City Law School tutor wins top pro bono prize

A tutor from The City Law School has scooped a prestigious award from pro bono charity LawWorks.

Hemma Ramrattan, pro bono coordinator at the law school, was awarded the prize for best contribution by an individual at the annual LawWorks Pro Bono Awards 2008.

Under Ramrattans leadership City Law Schools pro bono unit became the first London law school to offer the National Centre for Domestic Violence McKenzie Friend Project and the Innocence Project, amongst other initiatives.

She said: Pro bono work is so rewarding. Its especially inspiring to see our students apply their skills to help those in need. I hope we can continue to increase the impact that legal professionals can have, through the creation of supervised student projects, on local communities.

Meanwhile, Clifford Chance bagged the best contribution by a law firm accolade for its FreeLaw Programme, which encompasses four weekly clinics using 217 volunteers. The initiative is run in conjunction with two of the magic circle firms clients and law students from Queen Mary University and the London School of Economics.

The best contribution by a partnership gong was awarded to St Hildas East Community Centre, which provides legal advice to residents in the Tower Hamlets area in collaboration with law firms Berwin Leighton Paisner and DLA Piper.